Category: McCoy Fall 2014

I’m beginning to recognize a recurring pattern as I dive into the abstract, at times even murky, English major waters. All around me I hear the unspoken conversations between most students, educators, and all those in between, regarding a major’s value.

“So you’re an English major…” is what most people coolly reply to my admissions. Each time this occurs, I half expect them to finish their never-concluded statements with something similar to, “And where’s the value in that?” Now, I don’t believe that this attitude is often negative, so much as it is genuinely curious. Those outside of an English department can, understandably, struggle with the concept of English being a useful, valuable, course of study. In his Interdisciplinarity, Joe Moran discusses John Crowe Ransom’s argument that “the discipline of English needs to develop a clear professional footing…” (38). Majors such as Business, Economics, Biology, Chemistry, and the like, are known to have relatively clear post college goals. You can get a businessman, an economist, a biologist, and chemist right off the bat from those majors. Say you’re an English major, and the first (often only) thing that pops into a person’s mind is “teacher”. If that career is not what you’re aiming for, like myself, you’re faced with a sea of puzzled expressions; there is no “Englishman” profession waiting at our finish line. Also, why are we still struggling with the idea of valuing the English major so long after the discipline’s establishment? Continue reading “A Thought on Value”

Throughout reading everyones blog posts, I can honestly say that the most of us all agree on relatively the same thing. That being.. Why is everyone hating on us English majors/minors?? And for almost an entire class to agree on one particular thing is pretty unheard of so I’m really enjoying it.

I enjoy hearing the different voices that drive from the same root. I love reading the different opinions of interdisciplinarity, and what others thoughts and concerns are. But overall, like I said prior, I love knowing we all agree on the main issue here.

I think it’s time for some of us to stand up to these people who are bashing the english major. Of course, no violence is needed. But I think we should all take a different root following their questions next time. For an example, “English major? Why? I mean seriously why?”, and our response could be something along the lines.. “Do you know what interdisciplinary means? Do you know the difference between Intertextuality and interdisciplinarity?” “..no” “Well, I do.” And I think they could be the end of that conversation.. hopefully!

Use your knowledge people! Instead of getting so caught up on why people are continuously trying to abuse the english major idea, I’ve decided to use my knowledge and show them up, in a way. Get these people to realize that I am learning things, and although you may know how the grass grows and how the clouds move in a science major, I know how to write a well written essay, and I’ll be editing your books maybe one day.

But maybe not so harsh.. this is just a blog post.

The English discipline centers on literature, which is absolutely wonderful for those who enjoy reading, analyzing, and connecting books, but Interdisciplinarity refers to an argument against the need for such studies: Why does anyone need an English department when they can read literature on their own time? As stated by Moran, the problem with trying to legitimize the study of English is that “English…is generally accessible to those working outside the discipline in a way that, say, particle physics or differential equations are not” (19). On one hand, I find it hard to argue with this reasoning. Couldn’t an interested reader pick up any of the pieces of literature we’re studying in class this semester without having to go through the trouble of writing essays and worrying about grades? Why is this course necessary to my education? Continue reading “Why an English Department?”

On a daily basis I get asked the question, “Why did you chose English out of all the possible majors?”, to which I simply have run out of responses for.  I would ultimately give the usual “because it’s my favorite subject” or some other less-than-stellar response.  But, as I was reading Chapter 2 of Interdisciplinarity by Moran, I came across an interesting take on English.   Continue reading “Why English?”

As an English double major, the most common question I am asked at family gatherings, advisor meetings with my Business Administration advisor, or even nosy friends of my parents is “What are you going to do with that?” The uncomfortable part about it, I never really know what my answer is.  Continue reading “Theory as a means of ultimate worth”

As this semester rushes forward, and though I fully recognize that it’s only the first month of my first year, I have had numerous ups and downs, revelations and un-revelations, regarding my sense of security in my major. I feel as though I have gone through so many of the motions already: is this the best place for me, should I be putting my efforts into something with more external purpose, is this all just a waste of time? I have spent many a night, face down on my pillow, thinking to myself that majoring in English “could only be for” future teachers or the well-off, who are able to afford to simply study what interests them regardless of potential career options. I fall into neither of these categories.

Sorting through the layers of these questions and concerns, one alone has the capacity to encompass the rest: what am I doing here? Continue reading “Literature is a Window”

I don’t think it’s any secret that one of the biggest challenges to English is its failure to put students on a specified career track. While students majoring in chemistry, for instance, know they are going to be chemists and are able to work towards this title, those majoring in English can choose a multitude of paths – educator, business(wo)man, writer, journalist, and so on. An argument against the study of English that Moran brings up in Interdisciplinarity is that “unlike many other disciplines, English does not make a strong connection between education and training for future careers” (18). While this reasoning Continue reading “Productivity”

Over the summer I read a short book called The Mezzanine by Nicholson Baker. The story followed a man, who was also the narrator, during his lunch break. That was it. What made the book so interesting was its descriptiveness. Every observation the narrator made on his lunch break took the story into many other lines of thought. For example, while riding an escalator, the narrator looks down at his shoes and begins thinking about the different reasons for one shoelace to break before the other. These tangents often lead to connections that the narrator makes to his life, so while reading you are occasionally given insight into the narrators experience outside of his lunch break.

I was thinking about this because of how detailed all of the observations were, and how the narrator connected his observations to a lot of different things relating to his experience. In chapter one of Interdisciplinarity, Moran quotes F. R. Leavis, who says english is “a training of intelligence that is at the same time a training of sensibility; a discipline of thought that is at the same time a discipline in scrupulous sensitiveness of response to delicate organizations of feeling, sensation and imagery.” (Moran 30-31). I thought of The Mezzanine when I read this because while at points the extreme amounts of detail show an incredible grasp of the technical aspects of the english language, it also shows how these observations can be used to relate to a reader and ultimately create an emotional effect.

Although I don’t feel that technical skills should be an intellectual qualifier, I felt that The Mezzanine was a good example of the rigor of the english discipline judging by the amount of concrete information conveyed while maintaining an emotional connection to the reader.

When I was younger I always read the typical books that were popular for my age group: The Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osborne, the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, all of the Roald Dahl books. Then I was brought to light in ninth grade when my class read Charles Dickens’ work of art Great Expectations. Not only did it make me feel accomplished and cultured, but I loved it, each and every word (except maybe for the chapter that included an extensive amount of boating terms that I just did not understand). My fellow students gave me a sizable amount of grief, as they despised Dickens and our teacher for forcing us to read it, with long and detailed sentences (which I happen to adore) and a time period to which they could not relate at the ripe age of fourteen. But it’s a “classic”! Continue reading “Valuable Texts”